The Oklahoma State Capitol Could Soon Feature A Giant Satanic Monument Straight Out Of ‘True Detective’

Could a seven-foot-tall statue of Satan soon be erected at the Capitol of a state that sits right on the buckle of the Bible Belt? It sure could, if the New York-based Satanic Temple gets its way.

The proposed structure would stand at the Oklahoma state Capitol, next to a Ten Commandments monument that has raised the ire of the ACLU for being “self-evidently exclusive.” The Satanic Temple’s proposal is meant to appease the ACLU’s concerns and “complement and contrast the Ten Commandments monument.”

“It’s not a call to war against one side or the other, it’s actually a call for reconciliation to have a plurality of voices. There is no singular voice of the Oklahoman, you need to embrace the diversity of your population and see that no single politician’s view represents the entirety of the law abiding citizenry in Oklahoma.”

Greaves says his proposed monument — which looks pretty awesome, even though it has all the ingredients of a terrifying True Detective crime scene — is gaining support. He submitted his design after a request from the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission. And while the the Commission has placed a moratorium on making a decision on the Satanic monument while a lawsuit against the Ten Commandments monument is making its way through the courts, Greaves is confident that his plan will be approved. So confident that he’s moving forward with creating the structure.

Funding will not be an issue. The temple ran an Indiegogo campaign last month and blew right through their goal of raising $20,000. So if they get approval from the Commission, there’s a chance this thing will already be built and ready to move.

How are the locals reacting? Here’s a news report from Oklahoma’s News 9 that breaks down the situation further and features a few interviews. (Spoiler alert: Progressive college girls aren’t opposed, while old guys in cowboy hats think it’s a ridiculous idea.)

I wish I could say something funny about this, but I can’t. Don’t want to believe in God? Fine. But why would you espouse, openly, to worship a creature that despises humanity and seeks to devour it like a roaring lion? Or expect a population deep in the heart of the Bible Belt to put up with it? (again, you have to believe/know the Bible at least somewhat to believe in Satan.)

Because some people are pessimists, some are optimists, and that’s their right. Some people think the world is blessed and believe in God, some think it’s doomed and believe in Satan, and to tell either one of them they’re right is to play God, which is exactly the point. No one gets to play God, and so no one gets to pick which side gets a monument.

I knew I would be outnumbered, and that’s ok. I respect your free speech rights. However, co-opting a symbol such as this one…I remain opposed. Evil exists, whether philosophy wishes to explain it away or not. And the world needs to glorify evil less, and consider that a loving God (yes, with sometimes baffling rules) is better than anarchy and chaos. If all that is important is free will and self-interest, whose self is supreme?

Len Dawson Apologist, I say this as a fellow Christian and, more importantly, as a fellow Chiefs fan:

The feeling you’re getting right now, that it’s wrong for the state to erect a monument to a religious figure you despise? Yeah, that’s what atheists feel every day.

And, if we’re talking about Ten Commandments monuments, then that’s something that goes against what Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and countless other believers in this country hold dear as well.

These are citizens. These are taxpayers. These are your neighbors.

And that new feeling you’ve got, of being alienated from something the state is celebrating — and with your tax money to boot? Well, that’s their daily existence.

So you can use your uneasiness here to feel put upon, or you can use it to decide that maybe it’s time that the rest of us in the majority stop cramming our religion down the rest of the nation’s throat. If you don’t want a Satanist statue, just get rid of the Ten Commandments statue. Simple as that.

That way, we all have freedom of religion — to worship on our own, in our own way, or to not — and no one feels put upon.